OBSCURE ANTI-DRUG PROVISION COULD EXPAND SEARCH, SEIZURE LAW

WASHINGTON - Federal agents would have enhanced authority to search your
house, vehicle or workplace without telling you, and take property without
immediately informing you of what was seized if a proposed law passes
Congress, critics charge.

That would be one of the consequences of a seemingly innocuous bill designed
to increase criminal penalties for the production or distribution of
methamphetamine, according to both liberals and conservatives who have
targeted the measure for defeat.

The Justice Department backs the bill - called the Methamphetamine
Anti-Proliferation Act - saying it provides, "important and necessary tools
for deterring the spread of methamphetamine manufacturing and abuse in our
nation," according to Assistant Attorney General Robert Raben.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, whose staff said the law merely standardizes practices
that already occur, but are handled inconsistently by federal judges.

But a provision of the law that would allow police and federal agents to
"delay giving notice" of the intention to serve a search warrant has drawn
fire.

What that means, according to a statement from the American Civil Liberties
Union, is that, "the government could enter your house, apartment or office
with a search warrant when you were away, conduct a search, seize or copy
things such as your computer hard drive, and not tell you until months
later."

Marvin Johnson, the ACLU's legislative counsel, said, "If a man's home is
his castle, this is a tunnel under the moat."

That assessment is shared by Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., a former federal
prosecutor, who said the controversial provision "would in very substantial
ways change the law about notice of a search warrant being given. It would
loosen two aspects of search warrants, when notice of a search had to be
given and when a person had to be told of property seized."

The proposed law was inspired by difficulties that federal anti-drug agents
experienced in busting those processing "meth," a powerful stimulant that is
the drug of choice among white teenagers in much of the country.

Federal law already allows for so-called "sneak and peek" searches in which
federal agents go into a suspected drug warehouse or laboratory and document
their suspicions without immediately informing the occupants, said Jeanne
Lopatto, a spokeswoman for the Senate Judiciary Committee. And, in limited
cases, federal judges can approve wiretaps, listening bugs or tracking
devices without the knowledge of the person being investigated.

But there had been confusion about when such warrants are appropriate.

The proposed law was designed to set a uniform standard for when federal
courts could issue a search warrant, especially in drug cases, said Lopatto.

"Our ultimate goal is cracking down on methamphetamine labs," she said. "It
does nothing to lessen the standard for a search warrant. You'd still have
to convince a court you have probable cause. This would allow a delayed
notice, for a limited time, in cases where you want to prevent destruction
of evidence, flight from prosecution or putting a witness in jeopardy."

But the ACLU and Barr said the provisions of the bill, if they become law,
would not be restricted to searches for suspected methamphetamine labs.
Instead, they could easily be applied to any type of search for which a
judge issued a warrant.

"These provisions would apply generally; they have nothing to do with drug
laws," Barr said. "They are not limited in any way, shape or form."

The ACLU's Johnson said the law would make it much easier to get a search
warrant that would allow federal agents to refrain from informing the
subject of the investigation that property was taken. Now those warrants are
granted under "highly unusual circumstances" when there is no other way to
gather the evidence, he said.

The bill has cleared the Senate and is scheduled to be considered by the
House Judiciary Committee this week. If the House accepts the Senate version
without changes, the bill could pass to the president to be signed into law
soon.